Council to Consider Agreement for Arroyo Seco Vegetation Removal

Pasadena’s Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department will seek the City Council’s approval Monday on a proposal to enter into a sponsor agreement with the California Conservation Corps (CCC) to assist with the removal of non-native vegetation in the Arroyo Seco.

The CCC is a state development program that provides young adults ages 18 to 25, and military veterans through the age of 29, educational opportunities and job skills training through working on environmental projects and responding to natural and man-made disasters.

By entering into a sponsor agreement with the program, Pasadena will invite CCC volunteers, called Corpsmembers, to work on fire hazard mitigation maintenance projects in the Lower and Central Arroyo Seco and the Hahamongna Watershed Park between February and June 2022.

Work will include general roadside clearing to reduce fire intensity and firebrand impact to the Arroyo Seco, removal of annual grasses and undesirable non-native plants, trimming non-native grasses to three inches in length or less and leave in place, and dispersing large tree branches in place when chipping is not possible.

As a sponsoring agency, the City of Pasadena will not pay for any labor costs associated with the project as Corpsmembers will be compensated directly by CCC. Pasadena’s role will be to provide orientation and hands-on training with operating different pieces of equipment and power tools that are typically used in brush clearing work by City crews.

The CCC came into being in 1976 after Gov. Jerry Brown signed the law creating it, modeling the corps after the federal Civilian Conservation Corps that started with Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal in the 1930s. The CCC replaced the California Ecology Corps that was created through an executive order by Governor Ronald Reagan in 1971 as an “alternative service” option for Conscientious Objectors during the Vietnam War. After his governorship, Brown’s successor, Governor George Deukmejian, signed legislation to make the CCC a permanent department under the California Resources Agency in 1983.

Since its inception, CCC Corpsmembers have been working on such duties as trail maintenance, riparian zone restoration, tree planting and exotic plant species removal, construction, and emergency flood and wildfire response. Corpsmembers are offered the chance to complete their high school diploma through independent CCC schools and are trained in cooking, office work, chainsaw, and vehicle maintenance.

The CCC also encourages Corpsmembers to seek higher education or vocational training by offering scholarships.

The Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department said they are asking the Council to authorize the City Manager to sign the sponsor agreement with CCC on the City’s behalf. An Agenda Report prepared by PRCS for Monday’s meeting said the City will not incur any direct costs in the program. City staff will provide guidance and training during the project, and these costs will be absorbed within the PRCS operating budget.

Young adults who join as CCC Corpmembers are thoroughly vetted before joining. Corpsmembers must be California residents, pass the screening process and initial training to be part of the program.

In July 2021, the Los Angeles and Pomona CCC satellite locations were allocated approximately $416,000 from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to work on greenhouse gas reduction projects, such as removing dead and dying trees, brush and vegetation in order to reduce wildfire intensity and spread.